A Survivor’s Story: It’s My Story to Tell

At the age of 19 years-old I entered into a relationship with the brother of my pastor. Like most relationships things started off great. I thought he was heaven sent. See, my parents were going through a very heartbreaking divorce at the time, so anything that seemed comforting I ran to it. The first couple of years was good. Then boom! I realized, it’s like they say, “Everything that glitters isn’t gold.” I received my first punch. Little did I know that that would be the first of many. The first person I told was my pastor. I thought he would help me. That’s what pastors are suppose to do. But I guess blood is thicker than water. He quickly defended his brother and threw the minister collar out the door. He had every excuse in the book for his brother’s violent acts. I was getting beat so often that I became numb to the pain and numb to the excuses. It wasn’t until I became pregnant that I gained the courage to start calling the police. With each arrest, came more excuses from his family. By this time, I was totally brainwashed thinking it was something that I did. That somehow I was in the wrong. Finally, on my son’s first birthday, I saw the light. I got the courage to leave my situation and move miles away. Leaving my son behind with my mother until I got myself together, I moved to Orlando, FL with only $100 to my name. Within two weeks I found a job and shortly after got my first apartment. When I moved to Florida, things started to happen for me. Good things started falling in my lap. I give all the glory to God!

Now everything wasn’t a walk in the park. For the first few years I suffered from PTSD. I was having flashbacks and had a hard time sleeping at night. I strongly encourage counseling for anyone who’s a victim of domestic violence. I went to counseling every week and studied the teachings of my pastor at Great Faith Church. This really helped me get my joy back. I finally started to pour out everything that happened to me, and allowed new things (happy things) to fill me up.